‘Matthews & Co Express Delivery Service’ with full Squadron and goat mascot
Doug Moore was a Wireless Operator who served in both 76 and 192 Squadrons.
Born Douglas Holmes Moore during 1923 at Horncastle, Lincolnshire, at the outbreak of war, at 16 years old, he was an agricultural worker still living in his birthplace. He was in a reserved occupation which made it difficult to join the Armed Forces. Already in the local ATC, he decided to accept the challenge and apply to the RAF who were recruiting, in urgent need of aircrew. He reported to RAF Cardington, Bedfordshire, to take his Entry Tests – mathematics, general knowledge, aircraft recognition, etc. Cardington is probably more famous as the place where the ‘R’ series of airships were built and flown during the 1920s, especially the R101. Doug was successful in passing his tests, and in 1942, started on the path to becoming a Wireless Operator in RAF, Bomber Command.
Doug was ordered to report to RAF Padgate, near Warrington, Cheshire, on 21 April 1942. He collected his kit and documents, and received his Service No: 1620298. His first impression of Padgate was that it was like a prison camp, so thankfully, he only had one week to endure. His picture, right, was taken in April 1942.
Later that month, he was posted on to Blackpool to start Morse and Wireless Training at the Signals School, which turned out to be located on the top floor of Woolworths, a sea-front store. In addition to ‘square-bashing’ in front of the Cenotaph and outside the Metropole Hotel, trainee aviators also had to march to Celeveleys for rifle firing. RAF Yatesbury, Wiltshire, was the Radio & Radar School where Doug underwent further signals training, there from July to November 1942. His next port of call was for point-to-point Wireless Training at RAF Church Lawford, Warwickshire, No. 8 Pilot Advance Flying Unit, and it was here he first met Pilot Instructor John Crotch – a man in his midthirties, and an extremely experienced Pilot who would eventually become Doug’s ‘Skipper’.
On 30 April 1943, Doug was posted to RAF Madley, Hereford, No. 4 Radio School, where he started airborne Wireless Training in Percival Proctors. Then, on 30 June, he moved on to RAF Evanton, Scotland, for Air Gunnery Training using Blackburn Botha aircraft. It was here that Doug received his ‘stripes’. 21 September that same year saw him posted to RAF Staverton, Gloucestershire, for daytime Airborne Wireless Training using De-Havilland Dominie aircraft. While on 30 November, RAF Moreton Valence, Gloucestershire, originally opened as RAF Haresfield, designated as a landing ground up until 1941; had been rebuilt and upgraded to be renamed RAF Moreton Valence. It was here Doug underwent night flying training in Avro Ansons, and still recalls the manual undercarriage gear in the Anson taking exactly 180 turns of the crank to raise and lower! Trainee aviators were to catch their first glimpse of a jet aircraft, but told to ignore anything they saw or heard which might be unusual, and never to discuss it with anyone. This was a sure way to get their attention … and they soon got their first sight and sound of an experimental Gloucester Meteor.
From 24 January to 12 February 1944, Doug was at RAF Harwell … the name probably better associated with more recent use as the Atomic Energy Authority. During the war, it was home to several Squadrons in training, such as 105, 107 and 226 Squadrons. Doug was here with 15 OTU, training on Wellington Bombers. It was also here that he met aircrew members he would spend the rest of the war with, including John Crotch, now Flying Officer Crotch:
• Pilot: Flying Officer Crotch – a solicitor in civilian life
• Navigator: F/Lt Dimminger
• Bomb Aimer: Vic Worsley – from Bolton
• Flight Engineer: Anthony Martin – a Cockney lad
• Mid-Upper Gunner: Jack Lysaght – a Cornishman
• Rear-Gunner: Tony Leonards – another Cockney lad
• Wireless Operator: F/Sgt Doug Moore
The crew spent a short time here on cross-country training, circuits and bumps, bombing and stick bombing, with Doug’s Log Book giving a rare insight into the fast pace of training:
RAF Rufforth
5 March–28 April 1944. Newly constructed and opened on 10 June 1942, RAF Rufforth was approximately four miles west of York. A new Unit formed here in March 1943, No. 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit, to train aircrew on the Handley Page Halifax Bomber. Doug and the crew trained here on Halifax Vs.
Their first operation was on the night of 27 April 1944 when they were sent on a diversionary raid to drop ‘Window’. The aircraft used on this raid was a Halifax V, DG 297 of ‘C’ Flight. ‘Window’, or ‘Chaff’ as named by the Americans, was a method of ‘jamming’ German Radar, dropping aluminium strips cut to the wavelength of Radar transmissions, giving false ‘returns’ and confusing German Radar Operators.
Doug’s Log Book shows a range of training activities, three engine landings, one engine flying, beam approaches, steep diving turns, 20,000ft climbing and air-to-air firing.
The crew were now fully trained and ready to transfer to their first operational posting.
Holme on Spalding Moor
From 28 April to August 1944, with 76 Squadron at RAF Holme on Spalding Moor, No. 4 Group; this was an airfield which opened in 1941 as a Bomber Command airfield, and became home to 76 and 101 Squadrons, then later to 458 and 460 RAAF Squadrons.
With one sortie under their belts, the crew began a few days of familiarisation and practice before starting full operations on 9 May in ‘B’ Flight. Doug’s Flight Log shows details of all the sorties, but entries for 1-6 June 1944 , tell a fascinating story of their part in support of ‘D-Day’.
1 June 1944: take off at 23.05 in Halifax III ‘MP-M’. Target – Cherbourg. Flight duration: 4hrs 5min.
2 June 1944: take off at 22.20 in Halifax III ‘MP-K’. Target – railway marshalling yard at Trappes, near Paris. Flight duration: 4hrs 56mins.
5/6 June: take off at 02.56 in Halifax III ‘MP-K’. Target – Mont Fleury Battery. Doug makes a note in his Flight Log: ‘10 minutes before landings started – 6th June’. Flight duration: 4hrs 25mins.
6 June 44: take off at 22.15 in Halifax III ‘MP-K’. Target – St. Lo. Flight duration: 5hrs 10mins.
By the time the crew completed their tour with 76 Squadron, they have ‘notched up’ 13 sorties. An interesting detail noted in the Log is that F/O Crotch became F/Lt Crotch from 31 May 1944.
RAF Foulsham
Late August 1944, the entire crew transferred to 192 Squadron at RAF Foulsham, Norfolk, remaining together until the end of the war. The existence and purpose of 192 Squadron, with code letters DT, remained a secret until the mid-1970s when details emerged about German wartime radio navigation methods, and the existence of our Radio Countermeasures Unit. Meanwhile, on 28 August 1944, Doug and his crew began practising cross-country flights and Special Duties training. Their aircraft was Halifax III ‘DT V’ (shown below), and was used by them more than any other throughout the war.
Five days later, on 27 August, they took part in their first sortie in their new Squadron, Sortie No. 14 - a Special Duty Op dropping ‘Window’.
One mission they undertook was to the Arctic Circle, searching for enemy Radio traffic, which took a staggering 14 hours, with only quick refuelling stops in Scotland. NOTE: It is said that Doug proudly displayed a Certificate issued by the Squadron to commemorate this marathon flight!!
Further sorties followed … the total number reaching 39, far exceeding the expectation for heavy bomber crews over enemy territory. Doug’s reasoning behind this high number of sorties without casualties is explained by having a Pilot with the experience and maturity of John Crotch, who became Squadron Leader Crotch on 28 August 1944. However, it is well-documented that RAF Foulsham suffered higher losses of Radio countermeasure aircrew than any other Station.
With the end of the war in Europe, the crew were sent to former enemy bases such as Shleswig, sometimes carrying high-ranking Service personnel. While at the end of July 45, Doug received a Commendation from the ACC in recognition of his double tour with 39 sorties. Final duties in the RAF were on glider-towing from Shobden, his final entry in his Log being a passenger on 10 Sept.
Doug would like to have remained in the RAF and made a career of it, especially with the up and coming development in Radio and Radar technology. However, this option was not conducive to family life in post-war years, so he settled in North Staffordshire and spent the next 35 years working at the Michelin factory until his retirement.
This article is from the Spring 2018 issue of Confound and Destroy
